Gustave de Beaucorps

Algerian Street Scene

Maker

Gustave de Beaucorps (French, 1825-1906)

Title

Algerian Street Scene

Year

ca. 1858-1860

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

waxed paper

Supports

Dimensions

Sheet: 29.2 x 39.4 cm (11 1/2 x 15 1/2 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund

Object Number

1997.66

Type

Exhibition History

Early Exposures
19th-Century Photography from the Collection
Mar 13, 2015 – Jul 19, 2015

Label copy

This capture of a ghostly ascending cobblestone alleyway was probably not intended to be seen in the negative, but rather printed in the positive. De Beaucorps was an amateur photographer who made many waxed-paper negatives on his travels through Algeria, likely the location of this image.

Waxed-paper negatives were the first practical way to make negatives outside the studio, because the paper could be prepared at home. Durable and lightweight, they were appreciated for the soft delicacy and transparency of the images they produced.

Image and Enterprise
The Photographs of Adolphe Braun
Feb 04, 2000 – Apr 22, 2000

Label copy

The calotype, invented by William Henry Fox Talbot in 1840, allowed for a negative to be made on paper treated with silver nitrate and other chemicals and then exposed to light.

Image use

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Public Domain This object is in the Public Domain and available under a CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication

Tombstone

Gustave de Beaucorps (French, 1825-1906)
Algerian Street Scene, ca. 1858-1860
Waxed-paper negative
Sheet: 29.2 x 39.4 cm (11 1/2 x 15 1/2 inches)
Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund 1997.66

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